This oak-aged gentle giant has been gaining popularity over the past few years and is now available year-round.

For Burton Baton, we brew two "threads," or batches, of beer: an English-style old ale and an imperial IPA.

After fementating the beers separately in our stainless tanks, they're transferred and blended together in one of our large oak tanks. Burton Baton sits on the wood for about a month.

When enjoying the Burton Baton, you'll find an awesome blend of the citrus notes from Northwestern hops melding with woody, vanilla notes from the oak. The wood also tends to mellow the 10% ABV of Burton, so tread cautiously!

Not sure what style to rate against, given that this is an interesting blending experiment of and IPA plus an old ale, but here we go. Quite a pretty coppery amber color, with minimal cream-colored foam that doesn't cover the entire surface but extends a bit beyond the rim after pouring a year-old bottle (08/05/14, reviewed 07/25/15).

Overall, the addition of the old ale and aging on oak puts this into that confusing category of DIPAs that can easily be confused with American barleywines. Mild piney, resinous hop character on the nose along with vanilla, oak, orange, and brown sugar. Drinks much the same, but adds some malt and caramel ; hops are less prominent after a year in the bottle, which I personally appreciate here. To its detriment, the beer is less complex than a number of other old ales, despite its heritage as a blend. That said, it's very approachable and a great example of a year-round, obtainable beer that's good for cellaring. (958 characters)

Poured into an imperial pint glass at ~50F. Burnt orange amber and 3 fingers of creamy off white head that dwindles to a rich and creamy half finger cap. Lacing covers roughly half of the whole glass above the beer. It has a kind of glossy look about it... really nice, high quality stuff.

Smell is kind of quiet, but I get mainly vanilla and caramel candy and a hint of damp, dank citrus hoppiness.

Taste is creamy burnt caramel that turns into hoppy bitter over ripe dark citrus. Very unique flavors shine easily yet are blended extremely well. Definitely has epic depth and character from the aging.

Mouth feel is smooth, viscous, silky, and full bodied, with 10% ABV hidden deep down in there very tactfully... Very well done.

Overall I wish I had an endless supply of this stuff, but at $16 a four pack, it will have to be a go-to for special occasions only. This is probably my favorite brew from Dogfish Head. (927 characters)

Wow! A truly unique brew. The appearance is a nearly opaque light amber with a thin film of head. A light and earthy grapefruit nose greets you, and belies the intense and flavorful first sip. Tread lightly, this is strong brew that could easily spell a short night. Highly recommend for sitting on a deck after twilight on a Summer's evening. (344 characters)

I picked up this four-pack already chilled at the local store and I am glad that I did. Even though it is a bit pricey, it is definitely worth it. It has an even 10% ABV and about 70 IBUs. Let’s see what we got here.

Look-It pours a mild auburn color with a yellow tinge in the right light; medium clarity and plentiful carbonation. The head is full bodied and foamy and lingers all the way down leaving a very fine and delicate lacing on the glass. Very nice!

Smell-It smells of vanilla and citrus!

Taste-The taste is rich and deep. It is so refreshing, because the vanilla notes play on the tongue for a long time while the flavors of citrus, candied cherries, oak, and then it gives way to a hoppiness that sing high notes above the mild sweetness. It isn’t too sweet at all and what’s more is that the listed flavors interact with one another so well. They even form sort of a candied yam flavor like your favorite dish from Thanksgiving! It isn’t a palate wrecker, but the hops are definitely present and delicious. The alcohol is strong, but not overpowering. I definitely taste the two different blends that the brewer boasts. Excellent beer!

Mouthfeel-This is a very silky smooth beer where even the plentiful carbonation does not contribute in an overwhelming manner. The carbonation manifests itself as a sort of afterthought that is gentle and smooth complimenting the bite from the hops and alcohol, I think you’ll agree that this is a great beer!

Overall-I am definitely pleased with this variety. I think that everyone should try it as long as it is served chilled and poured into a nice glass you will get the full experience. What’s really cool about this beer is the brewers threaded two beers together and then aged them in an oak barrel. They brew and English-style old ale and an imperial IPA and then thread them together and then let them sit in oaky barrels; absolutely delicious and so drinkable. It drinks like a 7-8% ABV so tread carefully! Cheers! (1,991 characters)

One of my favorites from DFH. Smells of vanilla, hops and a bit of booze. Taste is amazing - vanilla, and a solid malt base, the finish is citrus hops with a touch of booze. Smooth and creamy feel - let it warm up a bit to truly enjoy it. DFH makes three of my favorite "sippers", this, the 120, and Palo Santo. (311 characters)

Nice blend of the two styles, with the citric tang and hop bite nicely complemented by the oak vanilla and malt smoothness. The alcohol heat is present but never gets in the way. This is a stellar offering from a stellar brewery. (229 characters)

The pour is a gift from the Heavens. Starts off with a thickish, murky copper color that brings about a cascading head. The head is really thick and foamy and retains for a good while. Eventually the head drops, but only slightly, from the sides leaving an amazingly thick lace stuck to the glass.

Really on I picked up the Pacific a northwest hops but after letting the beer sit for a minute, the PNW scents are gone replaced by oak, vanilla, and caramel. There's a splash of Barleywine in the nose.

This isn't a standard issue double IPA. Piney notes abound, but the oak aging has transformed this beer into a style almost all it's own. A very Earthy flavor dominates with the high alcohol content bringing about a sprit like quality.

Bitterness dominates, but there is a drinkability to it as it's not a palate wrecker. It's thick and full bodied, and fairly manly. It goes down pretty easy despite an aggressive alcohol kick, but it shits off at the swallow, never coating the tongue or holding it hostage.

I don't care much for the brewery but I consider this one of their best offerings. Not so much a go-to beer as it is a change of lace from the usual stuff. (1,183 characters)

Almost an auburn color with off white head, not too think. Oak on the nose for sure. Oak up front on the mouth with a sweet smooth finish. Not big on wood aged beers but this could be a game changer. (201 characters)

Like many of us drinking a variety of American craft beers I'm suffering from a bit of IPA overkill. This beer could bring me back to the style, the barreling brought it a complexity that made it really interesting. (216 characters)

$3.99/bottle at Total Wine Tampa. Pours a super creamy head. Tastes of bitter orange. Oak gives it a smooth, creaminess- almost like a nitro. Alcohol, hop bitterness, and oak flavors meld together in the finish. Very unique, classy IPA. I would not mind having this again, especially with that abv, but wouldn't go out of my way, as the "dank-creamsicle" flavor is a tad off-putting. (383 characters)

I'm not the biggest ipa fan but I found this to absolutely outstanding. The oak aging cuts down on the hop assault making this very smooth and drinkable. At 10% you can get into trouble real quick. (198 characters)

Taste - fantastic! As complex as the smell, the taste is none other than classic IIPA. Perfect balance of bitter hops and sweet malt; nothing overpowers. At 10% a.b.v, I figured I'd be feeling the burn, but this was as smooth as they come.

Mouthfeel - medium. Coats the tongue well.

Drinkability - with the high a.b.v, I could only drink a couple, but I would be very happy doing it.

Other than an unusual smell, this beer exceeded what I expected. I would love to try the DIPA that the English old ale was mixed with to create this. Even with the mixture the American hops shine through and provide a great assertive bitterness and the oak aging smooths out the higher than average abv to be almost unnoticeable. Very good, unique take on the American DIPA. (374 characters)

12oz bottle poured into a shaker. The aroma is bold, rich, and malty with caramel notes, sweet sugary citrus, and a moderate burnt wood joining late. The beer is effervescent and viscous with a hazy.murky caramel orange hue, and a slightly off white, dense foam head that has good lace and retention. The full bodied beer strikes a nice balance at medium-high levels of bittersweet. The texture is viscous with a zippy carbonation and flavored with notes of wood, caramel, spice, and a light citrus that spikes at the finish as a tangerine with some spice as well as a nyquil hint. The aftertaste is big and bold with burnt bread, marmalade, and a clean spice that mellows quickly but it still has a moderate strength and length. (729 characters)

Dark amber in appearance with a fluffy, pillowy head. Very little "floaties" in the glass. Aromas of fruit, mild pine and oak. Nice malty backbone to start things off. Very bitter! (yummy) fruit taste blended with piney goodness. Mild oak taste poking around toward the end. Buttery, crisp, bubbly and deceptively smooth. Goes down very easy. (be careful) Delicious! No other way to describe it other than that. One of the best double IPAs. Nuff said! (456 characters)

Barrel aged and you can tell by the aroma and taste. Bit too much carbonation and definitely boozy, the 10% comes thru to me. Aroma is sweet, malty and like a kicked up 90 min DFH. More like a barley wine, and not really what i expected. (240 characters)

Soooo good. Taste: the oak mellows the 10% ABV. Look: beautiful golden orange color with just the right amount of foam. Smell: like another sampling of deliciousness from Dogfish Head. Feel: feels like I need to drink another, but I'll save one for aging. (255 characters)

Appearance- pours a 1/2 in head, great golden amber color with a slight creamy look.Smell-Strong sweet malty smell, very boozy with slight fruity taste.Taste- Very well balanced, hoppy with a smooth finishMouthfeel- Full mouthfeel, very heavy with a little excess carbonation.Overall a fantastic beer, one of my favorites, I like it better than the 90 minute ipa but after rating it, it is very boozy and has somewhat of a barleywine taste, Id like to see a few more characteristics done to it to make it more of an ipa. (524 characters)